Amazon fires 14,000 employees amid AI-driven restructuring

Amazon has announced plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs, marking its largest round of layoffs in years, as the company doubles down on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

The company’s top human resources executive, Beth Galetti, described AI as “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet,” saying it allows companies to “innovate faster than ever before.”

Galetti added that the company now aims to operate “more leanly, with fewer layers and greater ownership,” to speed up decision-making and customer service.

The move follows months of hints from CEO Andy Jassy, who previously told employees that Amazon’s workforce would eventually shrink as AI takes over routine corporate tasks.

“We’ll need fewer people doing some of today’s jobs, and more people doing new types of roles,” Jassy wrote in a June memo titled Some Thoughts on Generative AI.

Amazon’s announcement comes amid a broader wave of AI-driven layoffs across the tech world. Meta, Microsoft, Target, and Salesforce have all announced major cuts this year, with executives citing efficiency gains from automation.

Even Wall Street is feeling the shift as Goldman Sachs recently said it will limit hiring due to “efficiencies from AI tools.”

It should be noted that the affected Amazon employees will have 90 days to find new positions within the company, though many roles are being replaced by AI systems and robotics.